Tag Archives: Fashion

I apologize for not blogging in a loooong time. Just finished my second semester at school and finals week had me too drained to write. Also, I can’t seem to decide which show to put on my Top 5 UK Based Shows You Should be Watching.

I have my top two but I don’t know which one should be on top! Such a dilemma. Anyways, while I procrastinate on that decision let me tell you about one British show that did not make it to my top 5.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Billie Piper stars as Hannah/Belle, a high-class escort in London. The series documents her various sexual adventures as Belle while keeping her call girl identity a secret from Hannah’s friends and loved ones.

I’ve been watching this show since its first series and sadly after series 4, it was cancelled. The show is actually based on the blog and books (Secret Diary of a London Call Girl) by “Belle de Jour”.

Though it did not make it to my top 5, Secret Diary of a Call Girl is still a must-watch. Just be prepared for a lot of sex scenes.

For this post, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite outfits of Belle/Hannah. I love love loved her fashion sense in the last season so here are a few screencaps of what she wore.

Here was Belle arriving from a lavish vacation. I loved this look! Very feminine and glamorous. The dress poofs out in a circle skirt and her shoes are red too!

Adore the statement neckpiece!

Here she is as Hannah. Simple and breathtaking! This is her nightgown btw. I never looked this good going to sleep.

Very HBIC.

Again, as Hannah. Very sweet and simple.

Love her eye makeup and necklace and dress in this outfit.

Again, here’s Hannah with her adorably grunge and girl-next-door style.

Well, that’s it! I know I kinda suck at capping but I hope you see the wonderfulness that is Belle/Hannah’s fashion during the 4th Series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Til next time!

Last Dec. 2-3, 2011 I took a deep breath and joined my first ever bazaar! It was the Christmas Wishes Bazaar held in The Bahay ng Alumni organized by U & Ur Events Management Specialists.

Needless to say, there were a lot of bumps and potholes along the way. I wasn’t able to make back my investment, sadly. Also, my supposed booth partner wasn’t able to make it so I had to shoulder their half. I didn’t think it was right to ask for their half if they didn’t use the space, though they offered. I’ll just charge it to experience.

Here’s what our booth looked like all set-up. That’s my boyfriend accompanying me and tirelessly supporting my online shop. He also has his own business. Check out —> DTS Marketing if you’re interested in starting your own foodcart business, looking for real estate or investing in an e-load business.

Day two, we found someone to share our booth with us. With so much space, it seemed a waste to just have it all to ourselves. Here’s our new booth-mate. They were selling cosmetics, bags, clothes, etc. The owner gave me tips on how to go about joining another bazaar. He said that I should sell everything and anything I could in order to get back the rental for the stall and make a profit. I’m noting that down for future endeavors.

Here’s my personal business card. We had them printed ourselves so if you’re looking for affordable and quality business cards, send me an email or comment here 🙂

I got to meet a lot of nice people during the bazaar. The sellers beside me were nice and I even found myself looking forward to the second day just to see them again. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get their contact details 😦

Next time I decide to join a bazaar, I’ll be more aggressive and plan my strategy better. As they say, learn from your mistakes. And while this experience wasn’t as fruitful as I’d hope, it was still a great thing to be part of.

It took me quite a while to write this entry. Mostly because I didn’t want to sound like I was hatin’ on some people and partly because I wasn’t really all that sure what I wanted to say. This post kept nagging me, though. Kept pulling from the corner of my mind, kept banging into my frontal lobe. It wanted out so I’m letting it out.

There was a phase in my life that I was obsessed with fashion bloggers. I had my Bloglovin’ account and I’d check it everyday (sometimes more than once a day). It started when I found a blog about nail polish (yes, nail polish) then it evolved into looking at chictopia and lookbook.nu and then finding fashion blogs. They were all so pretty and the clothes were so pretty and their hair was so pretty and…you get the drift. I’m an obsessive personality so when I get into something, I reaaaally get into it. There was a point where I could tell you where ____ went that weekend or what top _____ was wearing or where ______ got her earrings. Crazy, yes? I was that way for a month or two. Bloglovin’ occupied hours of my time. Okay, nothing sensational or though-provoking there.

But then my compulsion to buy stuff came around almost the same time as my obsession was at its peak. I’d pester my mom to go to bazaars with me or to take me to Megamall. I’d spend hours just going around the mall and looking at all the things I couldn’t buy and all the things I did buy. Now, this may sound like a typical teenage girl (ok fine I’m 22) but it isn’t a typical me. I was never into shopping. NEVER. I like shopping for my mom or my brother or my friends (gifts and stuff), but for me? Why bother? Mom used to buy my clothes for me, well into my college years. Ukay-ukay? Never really stepped foot in it until I read about fashion bloggers and their ukay skills (though the ukay thing started before this obsessive thing started. Kagulo timeline).

It had to tie in somehow. The buying, the reading, the buying, the coveting. It was a vicious cycle. For someone as hyper-aware of myself as I am, I knew there was something not right. Then it hit me.

The reason for all the buying was because I wanted to be like those fashion bloggers (epiphany kablam). Of course I’m not as skinny nor as adept at styling so I just kept buying and reading and buying and coveting. And it was doing some serious damage to my self-esteem.

I hesitate to go on because I’m a proud person and I don’t like admitting weakness but for the sake of inner peace and this monster of an entry, I shall continue.

As the days went on, I stopped being content with just reading about the bloggers. I had to do what they did or wear what they had or be skinny like them. My self-esteem was shot to hell. Now, every time I clicked on an entry, all I felt was envy. I was so envious of their life and their freebies and their fashion. It was emotionally draining. I didn’t feel like me anymore. I felt shallow and empty and lost. So, I stopped.

I forgot what it was that made me stop. It could’ve been the recent typhoon or my exams. I’m not too sure. Don’t think I’m the paragon of self-control or anything. I was just probably busy. But as soon as I stopped, I never went back. I realized that my energy was being sucked out from my body, through my eyes and into my laptop monitor. I didn’t want to feel envious anymore. I wanted to be happy for them and happy for me.

I’m still getting there, the whole contentment thing. Maybe that’s why I wrote this entry. To finally be content. To let out all my frustrations and all my BV’s. I don’t want to be BV anymore. And so, I stopped.

Through this whole thing I came to a conclusion that what you read (see or consume) really does affect how you feel. Reading things that inspire you or make you feel happy should be no.1 priority. Stop reading things that make you angry or envious or unhappy. Read things that remind you of who you are.

And so, I started looking for blogs that inspire me instead of make me feel worse about myself. I came across a blog of one of my acquaintances. She’s a friend of a friend whom I think I’ve met before (at least she looks familiar to me). Hannah’s blog makes me happy, inspires me, and makes me root for her. I hope I find my passion like she did and make others happy. Just a little sunshine I thought I’d share after the ominous cloud I hovered over you readers.

Again, I’m not saying reading fashion blogs is bad. No no no. I love them and I love what they’re doing. I just don’t feel like they are right for me. My point is (finally a point!) stop doing things that make you hate yourself and find things that make you love again. You are in control of how you feel. Don’t just react to things and blame them for it. Make a change for the better and do what you love, what makes you happy.

I still love fashion, clothes, styling, etc. But I get my fix somewhere else (ahem Rachel Zoe). I have my buying compulsion down a bit and have refrained from going crazy. It’s all good.

So, here’s me. Finishing off this beast of an entry and hoping I got my point across without hitting someone. It just needed to be written and so it is.

I admit that I enjoy hearing my voice. Not through singing, of course, but through speaking. It’s a little skill I’ve been developing since highschool with the Debate Club and with joining public speaking contests.

Last month, I was graced with the opportunity to be host/emcee at two events that happened one after the other.

The first was for my organization’s (UP Eng’gSoc) event entitled “Alay sa Inhinyero” held last August 24. It’s a thanksgiving and awarding ceremony for outstanding faculty members of our College. Luckily, I had a co-host, Cor, who weathered the bad lighting and lengthy script with me. Here’s what I wore:

BCBG Max Azria dress

Me and Cor

When I woke up the next day, I had to prepare my mind and soul (choz) for my second hosting gig. This time, it was for another one of my organizations, UP ARISE. I was hosting one of their seminars focusing on our five core values. I had the pleasure of hosting the one about Vision with Ms. Aubrey Eslita (owner of The Royal Tea). Since I’ve been attending events left and right during August, I had to be creative and come up with an outfit I hadn’t worn yet.

Belly Basics dress, Forever 21 necklace, Just G. belt.

You read that right, Belly Basics. The LBD I wore was my mom’s old maternity dress. Shows you just what a little ingenuity can achieve. Luckily, I pulled off the look and even got some compliments on it. Should try mixing and matching clothes more often. Do mind the fireworks-inspired bedspread XD

Hey guys! I’m opening an online accessories store, Melia. Official launch is on Oct. 10, 2011 but the first 100 people to like the fanpage will get special discounts and a chance to peak at the collections before anyone else.

Head on over to the Melia Accessories fanpage and click LIKE! (or look over the left side of my website and find the likebox)

Or should I say Night 1. It was my first time to fly at night and the experience was anything but pleasant. Sure you have the whole day to prepare for your upcoming departure and not have to rush to the airport but once you get to your destination, you’re so tired and useless that all you do is collapse into bed. At least, that’s what happened to me.

In the morning, I had to attend our practical exam for PE and write my exam for NatSci2. Then I met my uncle for lunch at Crazy Katsu in Maginhawa followed by a short trip to Moonleaf with my boyfriend. While waiting for him to arrive, I bought these cool vintage shades.

They were selling it as part of Tanglaw, a fund-raising project for the Ephpheta Foundation for the Blind by the ID179 Class, UP BSID 2012. Some of the eyewear were very worn and some even crooked but with patience, you’d definitely find that diamond in the rough. Look here for more items from them. See how much I used it in HK.

I headed home but stopped by a bank to do some mystery shopping for my mom. I was supposed to pose as a customer and assess their customer service. It was really fun and I was sniggering to myself the whole time. So much bull coming out of my mouth, it was hilarious.

After my short detour I went home to pack. We had about an hour to go before we had to leave so manic packing took place. We ended up taking up a lot of space in our suitcase, though. My mom and I got a little worried we might not have enough room for all the stuff we were going to buy. Time to test out my compact packing skills.

Finally, we arrived at NAIA 3 ready to board the plane. We just had to go through 2 hours of traffic but hey, that’s life. Fortunately, our companions got to check-in right as the counter closed so we all got inside the plane in time for take-off. It’s weird, it was the first time I rode a plane where the food didn’t come with the ticket. A day of firsts for me. 100 pesos for cup noodles. Crazy.

We left Manila roughly 7:30pm and landed maybe around 10:45pm (according to my trusty FB status update). We got to the hotel around 12:30am already and I don’t know why. I mean, we were told the hotel was only 15 mins away from the airport. Ow well. Here’s the view:

You know you’re in HK when there’s a whole island allocated for the shipyards. The room was tiny, teeny-tiny. I wasn’t used to such a small room. The thing I loved about it though was the great closet-slash-table-slash-refrigirator. They do space-saving right in HK.

I’ve been promising/teasing you, dear readers, for a month now about my first ever pull. I’ve just been so busy with my other writing assignments that I didn’t have the time to have this post. But here it is! No more waiting!

A little intro to the event I did the pull for.

My organization, UP Engineering Society, has an annual kick-off party to start off our anniversary month. Ever year, we have an acoustic battle of the bands competition as well as a fashion show. This year, I was in charge of finding clothing sponsors for our fashion show. I suggested we contact different online clothing stores since they have been popping up like mushrooms in the last few years. I also thought that they may be more willing to lend us clothes since this could be a way of advertising their brand.

I didn’t really know how magazines or other stylists do their pulls so I just went with sending emails to as many online shops as I can. Of course, I picked those which I loved. Having been very active in the bazaar scene the past summer gave me an idea of the styles and usual stocks of various stores.

In the end, two brands agreed to sponsor us: Flattering Tops and Zoo. I was beyond ecstatic that I got two sponsors!

So, I picked up the clothes and brought all of them to our go-see and photoshoot. I was so paranoid and OC with the clothes since I’d have to pay for them if there were any damages. I didn’t let the models take them home to fit or alter and I made sure I had an eye on all the items 24/7.

I didn’t have garment bags so I went with garbage bags instead! Clean ones, of course. I also had to learn how to assemble a clothing rack and hang up clothes of different types.

During the actual shoot, I was running around fixing the fit of some clothes, drying others that got a little wet due to the rain, fixing shoes, assisting the photographer, taking BTS shots, speaking with the models, etc. (Get ready for pictures mostly of my back XD)

Our photographer: Ted Manansala

I couldn’t have done it all alone so I was so glad I had my orgmates to help me.

In the end, we had a fabulous shoot, despite the rain, and all the clothes made it back to my home safely. After the photoshoot, the next activity was the fashion show. Again, I had to bring everything inside the venue, assemble the clothes rack, assemble the backstage area, have lights ready, prep the models, orient the models, look after the runway, cue the models, lights and sound, and pack everything up after the show. I wasn’t able to get dressed or dolled up until I finished all that.

Whew! Good thing my boyfriend was there to help me out and to take me to an awesome dinner after. We went to Brothers Burger and Cafe Breton. Yummy in my tummy! Then, we returned to the venue to party with everyone.

One of my only photos at the event. Too busy!

My work didn’t end with the event, however. There was still the returns to do. So, I looked at each detail of each garment and made sure there weren’t any spills, smudges or stains. I only got to breath again after I got all the clothes safely back to their owners.

It’s hard work (started with a braid but then lost my hair tie) but I learned so much and I hope to be able to do more pulls in the future.

The model with the most votes will get a special prize! And, the number of likes garnered from now til August 5, 2011 12NN will count towards each participant’s final score. 10% to be exact. So go on! If you want her to win, LIKE na!